Shena Aggarwal tops UPSC civil services exams- 2011

Two top slots in the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examinations 2011 have been achieved by women candidates. According to the results announced on Friday, Shena Aggarwal, who holds a Bachelor of Medicine and

Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, has topped the examination. Whereas, Rukmani Riar, a Master of Arts (Social Entrepreneurship) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, has got second rank.

While the third position is bagged by Prince Dhawan, who had done Master of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2011 was conducted on June 12, 2011. As many as 4,72,290 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 2,43,003 wrote the test.

According to a release by the Department of Personnel and Training, 11,984 candidates were declared qualified for the main written examination held in October-November, 2011 out of which 2,417 candidates were selected for the personality test conducted in March-April, 2012.

Finally a total of 910 candidates -- 715 male and 195 female -- have been selected for appointments to various central services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

The list of selected candidates includes 420 General (including 21 physically challenged), 255 Other Backward Classes (including 8 physically challenged), 157 Scheduled Castes (including four physically challenged) and 78 Scheduled Tribes candidates among others, it said.

The result also showcases the pan-Indian distribution of successful candidates in the examination. Among the top 25 candidates, there are candidates claiming domicile from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The top 25 candidates include alumni from some of the premier educational institutions of the country, including AIIMS, IIM and IITs. "An alumnus of London School of Economics also figures in the top 25," it said.

The family background of top 25 candidates show diverse representation from all walks of the life which include farmer, teacher, businessman, army personnel, low and middle level government servants, doctors, advocate, professor and civil servants.

Among them, six have made it to the merit lift in their first attempt; seven in second attempt; nine in third attempt; and one each in fourth, fifth and sixth attempts. As many as 12 have already been recommended to services other than IAS on the basis of Civil Services Examinations of previous years.

Rank 2: Rukmani Riar

She cleared the tough exam in her first attempt and grabbed the second position.

Rukmani, hailing from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, has brought laurels to her family. "Her hard work and the blessings of god helped her succeed in the exam," her father G.S. Riar said.

The 25-year-old studied at Chandigarh's New Public School before shifting to Sacred Heart School in Dalhousie. She graduated in BSc (honours) from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) in Amritsar.

Rukmani then studied social entrepreneurship at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. She is a merit certificate holder for outstanding academic performance throughout her school years.

She was also awarded a dual honours degree in political science and sociology and presented a gold medal at GNDU for securing the first position all three years in the university.

Among her achievements is penning down awareness papers such as 'Struggle with Reality: Women and their working conditions' and 'Skewed Sex Ratio in India: a cause of immediate concern'.

Rukmani intends to help the needy and being a part of the civil services would make that possible for her. "It is a dream come true," she said.

- Vikas Kahol/Chandigarh

Rank 3: Prince Dhawan

This Chandigarh-resident also cleared the civil services exam in his first attempt and managed to secure the third spot.

When asked why he wanted to join the public services, he said: "I always wanted to contribute meaningfully to society."

This is not a one-time honour for Prince, who is the son of the Income Tax commissioner in Chandigarh. He was always an intelligent student, having earned two medals from IIT -for scoring the highest GPA and for being the best all-round student.

Prince's preparation for the civil services exam was different - he never burnt the midnight oil. "He studied in the day but never at night," his roommate pointed out.

Prince's uncle, Sarwant Singh, praised his cool attitude. "He never worried about the results; in fact he never worries about anything," he said.

His mother Indu revealed that Prince was confident about making it to the top. "After the exam, my son was sure that he will figure in the top three," she said proudly.

Asked about how he plans to contribute to the society, Prince replied: "By doing all the work they assign me; and doing it with efficiency and sincerity."

Prince, who stuck to a timetable for the exam, advised the other aspirants - "work hard but with intelligence and patience".

- By Narinder Kapur

( Courtesy: http://www.hindustantimes.com, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/ )

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